Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 | Page 131

The Voyage of Bǎozàng Chuán
Kellett School, Kirplani, Tanisha - 13
People scrambled, porters, shoved and hollered, merchants called, shopkeepers argued, women bargained. A
typical afternoon in Shandong - to any outsider. To the locals, it was an important day. The air crackled
with tension, voices were curt and fearful, villagers backs and necks strained as if listening for a hidden
attack. Then the gong went off, signifying a new raft entering the docks. Suddenly, everything froze. No
breeze, no waves, even the birds seemed to hover in one place. It was as if the little village was holding its
breath. Then the spell snapped, and the whole village shrank back from the monstrous creation that towered
over everything. They had known a boat of great importance was coming today. But this? It was beyond
their wildest dreams.
The Bǎozàng chuán had come to Shandong and with it came sorrow.
…
Later that afternoon, Zheng Hi sat in the humble house of Gao Dou. The refreshments on the ancient oak
table lay untouched. It appeared, to the crowd that stood outside the village headquarters, that the stranger
and their beloved mayor were participating in an intensely heated argument. It was the first time the
villagers had seen their calm, placid mayor get worked up in a rage. Only later would they know the reason.
The night of the villages’ weekly meeting, Gao Dou took his place at the little podium ready to make the
announcements for the following week. His buoyant face was unusually grave, just as it had been when he
announced the start of the war with Li Zicheng, the Shun Dynasty emperor. Mayor Gao waited as the
crowd fell silent before him. He said “Mr Zheng Hi, captain of the Bǎozàng chuán, which belongs to the
Ming Treasure Fleet, has come to our humble society. We must bestow all our respect on him. Mr Zheng
has requested us to present him with two children who accompany him on his next voyage.” At that, a
fearful gasp rose through the audience. Parents hugged their children closer and backed away in fear. Finally,
after a long moment of silence, Feiyan Dou stepped forward. “Gao”, she said in her honeyed voice “ we
have two strong ones, let them go if no-one else will send their children on such a prestigious journey.”
After a moment's hesitation, Gao reluctantly agreed. “Yes, I think that's what we will do,” he replied. The
next morning Buwei and Ji Dou left for their adventure. The villagers were sad to see the two adorable
children leave but were grateful that none of their children were chosen to go on the voyage. As they
boarded the ship a cloud of loss formed over Shandong. No one knew if they would ever see the two
children again.
*
Seven-year-old Ji sat, lost in thought, on her four-poster bed in the enormous ship cabin. A knock on the
door set her thoughts back in place. She straightened the creases of her flowing silk dress, courtesy of the
ship, and stood by the bed as the door opened. It was a lowly sailor with a message from Captain Zheng,
requesting Ji to go to the Captain’s cabin. She left the room immediately and hurried down the elegant
carpeted hallway with the magnificent crystal chandelier. As she ran up the grand marble stairway, she sensed
her older brother behind her and slowed down to let him catch up. Together they walked, eagerly awaiting
the new task Captain Zheng had told them about the previous evening.
The Captain’s jolly face awaited them as they entered his cabin. In his hand was a map. Nodding at them to
sit down, he unrolled the ancient papyrus and set it on the table in front of them. In a flash, they understood
what he would ask of them.
“As you may have inferred, I now ask you to guide the ship to the treasure. This can only be found by two
children and their leader as the old prophecy states. But they must have a pure heart and good intentions.
For days on end, we have scoured the seas for this treasure only to realise that we didn't have the two
children to play the key part,” He said with a serious expression. Buwei questioned hesitantly, “You said a
pure heart and good intentions sir. What you are going to do with the treasure once we find it?”
“The treasure will be used to fund the army, to protect us from future wars. It will help with development
across the villages of our country and aid the poor. So will you help?” he asked.
“Of course,” they answered together. Ji eagerly snatched the map, nearly dropping it in surprise at what she
saw next. The usual black gridlines glowed a hot gold and the gold face drawn on the map started to speak...